Don't Question It
by Tryaurus
Summary: AU! Second in my Together Series! There are just some things about the Mutou children that you just don't question. A lot of things that make them stand out and yet, its all too normal for them.


**A/N: Hey, everyone! Here is the second instalment in the "Together" series!**

 **PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE READING THE STORY! – This Notice was in the Last One-Shot too.**

 **I am currently working on a story for the Yugioh fandom that has been a long time coming and at the same time creating my own "Yugioh Universe" where all my stories in this fandom will originate from.**

 **To test all this out I am going to be writing one-shots and short stories – 2 to 5 chapters short – to practice my hand at writing the characters and seeing how readers – you – react to them. Basically, I am asking you for your opinions before I start my "Main" story.**

 **You are going to introduced to my version of Yugi Mutou because – for the record and anyone who wants to know – I hate it when he is portrayed as weak or a complete cry baby. I think Yugi showed us enough throughout the series that he is far from that. I have also created a background after hearing and reading several reports of situations like this – not the same but similar – to provide reasons for his personality and attitude. Main reason: younger siblings.**

 **Yugi Mutou is the eldest of four children and their parents do not raise them or treat them right. This has led to Yugi becoming the protective and parental older sibling that you will see in this universe. I won't say anymore – there will be profiles at the bottom with the information revealed in this story but I will be uploading to my bio the full profile when I'm ready – and I'll let you get reading.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **EXTRA IMPORTANT NOTICE #1: Yugi and his siblings have custom made decks with monsters and cards I have created myself. Yes, whenever Yami no Yugi is in control he will use the cannon deck as Yugi will have that as well but Yugi and his siblings will be using the decks I have made for them otherwise in non-cannon duels. If you like, once I get to that stage, I can put a list of these decks up on my profile.**

 **EXTRA IMPORTANT NOTICE #3: For my main story, I will be looking for OCs for the gang as Anzu and possibly Honda will not be in it. I will be very selective about it and as I really don't want to make more OCs, I am asking that if you want to, you can send me an OC for the adventures. I cannot guarantee their appearance, as I don't want a group of 12 adventurers but I would like options. The gang will consist of Yugi and his three siblings, Jounouchi and two-three others. Remind: This is optional.**

 **Please Send in an OC! You can use a similar format to the one I've used for the quartet.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, Mythology or Duel Monsters. Or anything else that seems familiar to you in this story.**

* * *

 **Don't Question It**

* * *

All families have their little quirks and oddities that define them but, when it comes to the Mutou family, there are many peculiar happenings that you just shouldn't question.

The parents, Ammon and Aiko Mutou, are very sociable people and are often out at night clubs and parties, thoroughly intoxicated (Ammon) or high on whatever they can get their hands on (Aiko), falling into strangers' beds without much persuasion. For a married couple, Ammon and Aiko hold no love for each other and prefer the company of others: they don't even sleep in the same room, let alone the same bed as each other! Ammon runs a brothel/strip club business and is almost always with his 'staff' in the evenings while Aiko's reputation as Domino's Slut is not unfounded, the woman sleeping in a different man's bed every night.

Even though their parents' reputations cause them extreme grief and place them on the receiving end of crude jokes and abuse, their children have no problems with the perceived 'abandonment'. In fact, to them, it's a blessing.

I suppose, when you know the truth of the situation, it is indeed a blessing.

The children are a very reclusive bunch with no friends, something none of them have a problem with and are outcasts among their peers. As no one attempts to reach out to them, to become friends with them, no one knows about the strange little occurrences that you simply don't question.

For one, you don't question Lykos' animals.

You don't question the dogs – the Shiba Inus, the Akitas, the Kishus, the Tosas, the Japanese Spitzes, the Japanese Chins, the Kai Kens or the Japanese Terriers – that follow Lykos home. Yes, it looks like a procession from the circus but for your safety, it would not be a good idea to say anything. You shouldn't question the cats either – the Japanese Bobtails particularly – that creep in and sleep on his lap whenever he is reading or playing on his computer.

You don't question the Japanese quail that nests on his head whilst he does his homework or the Japanese grosbeak that perches on his shoulder as he walks around the house. Those two birds are very fond of him and have a habit of attack strangers. It was only last year when the Japanese quail laid an egg on his head. Thanatos wouldn't stop laughing at him as Yugi thoroughly washed Lykos' hair after they'd built the quail a proper nest in the top left corner of the room. The boys' woodwork skills paid off once more. The grosbeak has attempted to tear the postman's eye out more than once.

* * *

 _*KNOCK*KNOCK*_

" _I have a delivery for Mutou Aiko."_

 _Lykos groaned and stretched, pushing himself off the couch, prompting the bobtail to leap off his lap and the grosbeak perched on the back of a chair to take off and land on his shoulder._

" _Let's go get this delivery for Mother, buddy. I would like to just ignore it but…"_

 _The grosbeak squawked in response. Lykos snorted._

" _No, I don't know what it is," he replied, making his way to the door. "And honestly, I don't want to know. I want to pretend I don't know her occupation, okay, Tori?"_

 _Tori nipped his ear as Lykos turned the door handle._

" _Yes?"_

 _The delivery man held out a box and smiled._

" _Delivery for Mutou Aiko?"_

 _Lykos took the box gingerly, not really wanting to look at its label and find out where it came from. That was the last thing he wanted to know._

" _That's my step-mother but I'll take it for her," he told him holding back a 'but I really don't want to' at the end._

" _And your name is?" the man asked, pulling out something akin to a check with a signature box at the bottom._

" _Mutou Lykos."_

" _Lee-kos?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _That's an unusual name," he commented as he fiddled around in his bag for a pen. "Not very Japanese."_

" _No," Lykos agreed, petting his grosbeak as the bird began to flutter in irritation. "My mother's Turkish but was adopted into a Greek family: she named me. My father's half Japanese and half Egyptian so I don't really look like any culture."_

' _I cannot believe how easy it was, to tell the truth – kind of – about Mum. I mean, she was actually Phrygian originally which was a kingdom in west central Anatolia which is now where Turkey is so…she is Turkish. While I am of her Greek aspect I still know her Phrygian aspect,' Lykos thought trying to hide his amusement over the whole situation._

" _Aha!" the delivery man cried out in triumph, pulling out a pen. "Here it is!"_

 _He handed the booklet and the pen to Lykos who tucked the box under his arm as he went to sign off._

" _Just sign–ARHHHHH!"_

 _*SQUAWK*SQUAWK*_

 _"Oi! Tori! Stop that! You'll peck out one of his eyes!"_

" _WHAT!? GET IT OFF ME!"_

" _BAD BIRDY! STAND DOWN!"_

* * *

You certainly don't question the Japanese black bear – tsukinowaguma (moon circle bear) – that breaks in every night and snuggles with Lykos. Considering the four siblings share a room and there is only one single bed, the once four-way dog pile often becomes a five or even seven-way dog pile depending on the night. You don't ask about the sable family that tries to break into the refrigerator ever night but fail and Lykos has to open it for them or the Japanese serow that invites itself in for breakfast. You don't question the tanuki pup that has taken up permanent residence in Lykos' school bag either.

But above all, you do not question the wolf ears that pop out of Lykos' head – his human ones' vanishing – or the wolf tail that appears whenever Lykos' starts stressing out or is laughing too hard. Or when he actually becomes a wolf and starts tearing the kitchen to pieces in his search for meat. Yugi has been assigned the task of keeping him in check whenever he goes full animal form as he has an endless supply of food to satisfy whatever animal Lykos succumbs to – wolf, bear, deer, tiger, rabbit or any other wild animal that he feels like.

To the Mutou children, these animals' appearances are as normal as the Earth spinning – they're just like family – and for Lykos, it's simply a side effect of being a goddess' son.

Another thing you don't question? Layla's love potions and her 'Love Sense'.

You don't question the eight shelves of potion bottles filled with different coloured liquids, bubbling and brewing seemingly on their own or their strange labels, such as, "Compulsion", "First Love", "Lust", "Unrequited Love" and "Seduction."

You don't question the tool belt, armed with at least 10 different samples strapped around her waist, or the pink and silver bow and quiver slung across her back as she stalks out the door, waving to her brothers who are sitting around the dining table, calling, "Off to break some hearts, tally-ho!" or Yugi and Thanatos' replies of, "Don't get caught!" and "Make sure you hit a teacher!"

You don't question the way she takes one look at you and starts squealing about your crush or love and how "adorable you are together" or how "Oh my Cupid's Bow! You two must be such a hot couple!" or "You better go ask him out or I will be forced to hit you with my arrows!" You don't question the turtle doves that flock to her either.

You don't question how she knows when you're lying about who you like or how she can coax a confession out of you with ease or the "Great Big Book of Love and its Dramas" that she's currently writing.

You certainly don't question her fashion sense. Don't do that; it's like stealing Zaraffa's from Yugi. Don't do that either.

* * *

" _Come on, Yugi! You'd look so hot in these!" Layla begged, holding up the white silk dress shirt in one hand and amethyst and crimson silk shirts in the other. "And if we grab you a pair of black skinny jeans and you wear your black leather boots from your work outfit, you'd floor every man and woman in the vicinity, whether they're gay, lesbian, asexual, bisexual, married, single, taken, old, young, rich or poor!"_

 _Lykos frowned. That didn't actually sound that great._

" _Old?" he echoed. "Lala, are you asking for trouble? Wait, no. That's a stupid question. Of course, you are asking for trouble! Yugi suffers enough harassment at work because they make him wear tight leather, neck belts, cuffs and Yugi only knows what else and you want to bring that hell into the other half of his life?"_

" _Oh come on, Lykos! He doesn't have any nice clothes other than his work ones and no one's going to cause him that kind of grief at school or anywhere outside of work," Layla replied dismissively._

" _Layla, I don't feel comfortable in those kinds of things," Yugi explained gently, knowing that Layla could be just as volatile as Thanatos when it came to fashion. "Besides, I can't afford expensive clothes like that. Especially not after I bought you those two dresses, the pair of boots and those jeans; Lykos' jacket, jeans, shoes and shirts and Thanatos' jean and leather outfit. I have enough clothes anyway."_

" _Besides," Thanatos added, wrinkling his nose at the shirts. "Amethyst would wash him out and crimson would look clash too much."_

Yugi groaned silently and Lykos backed up fast as Layla exploded at her older half-brother.

" _And you call yourself my brother! For the love of our shared grandmother, Thanatos, I am ashamed of you! How do you not see how the amethyst shirt matches his eyes and makes them pop?! Especially if he was to where a black leather jacket, black skinny jeans and black boots; it would make his eyes and the shirt the main focus of the outfit and with a shirt of this quality and eyes like his, that's exactly what you want! Grandmother would be so ashamed of you, you fashion-blind moron! And the crimson? Crimson goes with black like a house on fire and it does not clash with his eyes! It's called balance, Dead Brain!"_

 _Yugi suddenly found himself holding all three t-shirts, a pair of skinny jeans and a pair of black boots. Layla huffed in annoyance at his lack of haste._

 _"Get your butt in the changing room, Yugi! I'm going to prove it to this stupid, overly muscled, block headed, dead brain, corpse smelling imbecile that he knows nothing about fashion and he should never ever doubt my decisions least he wants to end up with only tutus to wear for the rest of his life."_

" _But I don't want to–!"_

" _GET YOUR ASS MOVING, BROTHER!"_

" _For Seth's sake, I'm going! I'm going!"_

* * *

But what you really don't question, is the pair of giant white wings that sprout from her back when she gets excited or mad or when she wakes up in the morning. You don't know how many times Yugi has been hit in the face by one of her wings, or how many times Thanatos has threatened to rip them from her back if she doesn't stop doing it.

Layla's knowledge and weird quirks when it comes to love, lust, beauty and desire are simply another part of the Mutou's queer little world but Layla sometimes sees it as a curse; the curse of being a love god's daughter.

When it comes to Thanatos, you don't question the spirits or the skeletons for that matter. Unless you want to become one.

You don't question him when Thanatos starts arguing or talking to thin air – usually in Latin. He may look insane but he just has the ability to see things others cannot. You don't question him when he starts complaining about the incompetence of ghouls these days either; apparently, none of them are capable of simply delivering a message or leaving him alone.

You also shouldn't take his threat of tearing your soul out of your body should you piss him off lightly. He has done it, multiple times and it is a very painful process, involving him ripping your soul out of your body and then banishing it to the Underworld where your soul will rot in the Fields of Punishment for eternity. It's the perfect way to kill someone because it looks like you've just died of fright or natural causes too. Speaking of banishing souls, don't question him on that either. He may just banish your granny's soul to the depth of hell just for poking you nose where it doesn't belong.

You don't question him when he starts threatening Yugi's Egyptian Puzzle, warning it that if it ever causes harm to Yugi that he will personally banish it to the Fields of Punishment. It's an amusing sight actually. Yugi finds the puzzle to be his getaway from the entire mess his life is whilst Thanatos finds it to be a source of grief. He can sense a spirit within and claims it has bad intentions; Yugi won't let that stop him from finishing it, though. Layla and Lykos personally think he's just jealous.

* * *

" _Yugi! There is an evil spirit inside that thing! You know what the box says! You can read hieroglyphs! "The one who solves me shall gain the powers and knowledge of darkness!" You told me that yourself."_

 _"Darkness does not necessarily mean evil, Thana. You are a child of darkness and death but you are not evil. My father is the god of evil but does that make me evil? Is he? Besides, if I was trapped inside a shattered puzzle for several millennia, I'd be violent and wanting out too."_

" _Don't bring our parentage and powers into this! This isn't about us, it's about the spirit! What if it was shut away for a reason?! I can sense its malicious intent, Gizmo, and if you solve that puzzle, you'll be unleashing it on all of us! You're going to put Layla and Lykos in danger!"_

" _Do you know that for certain? Are you sure that it is an evil spirit…or simply trapped in a dark place, alone and possibly memoryless. You told me yourself. Spirits such as this one never have memories of their past life. Besides, you have complete control over all spirits, do you not? Then if this one does prove itself to be a threat, you can banish it to Tartarus. Until then, however, I will not stand by and have a spirit condemned to an eternity trapped inside a broken puzzle if I can help it. Everyone deserves a second chance, and with you as my witness I sure as hell will give it one!"_

" _Fine! You win. But the moment that spirit steps out of line, I'm reaping his soul. Game…there's something more, isn't there? Why you're determined to set this spirit free?"_

"… _yes. My mother, father and aunt contacted me in a dream six years ago, when I first received the puzzle from Grandpa."_

" _WHAT?!"_

" _Yes, I haven't seen or heard from them since but they told me that this spirit needs to be released or their entire pantheon is doomed to fall."_

"… _so we've got an Egyptian spirit catalyst on our hands."_

" _Yep."_

" _Why does this shit always happen to us?"_

" _Because the universe needs a few regular punching bags. Now, all hands on deck, spirit whisperer."_

* * *

You don't question the occasional skeleton that strolls through the door with the morning paper because Thanatos is too lazy to get it himself or the ghost of Einstein sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework because Thanatos doesn't want to do it. Thanatos will always be a lazy ass and no one has ever been able to convince him to do his homework instead of relying on the dead genius' soul. Yugi has probably given up or decided it's not worth it.

You don't question the skeletal mouse – Jimmy, as he's fondly been named – hiding inside the collar of Thanatos' school jacket or the skeleton hands that poke and grab the teacher's ankles during class because he is bored and thinks she's being stupid. (You also don't question Yugi stalking into the classroom to minutes later, tossing his giant of a younger brother of his shoulders, informing the teacher of a family matter that they need to attend to and dragging him out for a thorough scolding of using his powers in class).

But above all, you don't question the giant pair of black feathery wings that sprout from his back, or the giant grim reaper styled scythe that appears in his hand – towering over his 6'5 – whenever he gets into his "Death Mode" as the family has dubbed it as before he stalks out the door and takes off into the sky. (You also don't question why nobody looks at the paper for the next week.)

Thanatos' undead and murderous habits are just another part of the Mutou family's daily life and a constant reminder to the second oldest child that he's the son of Death.

You don't question Yugi. At all.

You don't question his ability to solve a Rubix cube in 10 seconds or his ability to plan a chess match right up to which corner of the room you will be sulking in for the rest of the day out of defeat by the time you've made your opening move. It took him eight moves to put Maximillion Pegasus in checkmate when he was 10 years old and the creator of Duel Monsters could read minds! You also don't question his ability to win every single game you challenge him to, even if he has never played it before. Don't worry, he doesn't cheat. It's just his talent. _Pegasus_ was so impressed with his skill when they met when Yugi was six years old that he even allowed him to create his own monsters, spell and trap cards! Then, four years later, he beat the creator of Duel Monsters himself at his own game!

You don't question how he snaps his fingers and food appears or how he can always make delicious food without fail. As long as it's a home cooked meal, Yugi only needs to concentrate for a moment before he can hand over the most mouthwatering food you will ever see, smell and taste. Even when he doesn't use that ability, no matter what he makes, even if it's for the first time it is always made to perfection. And that is not his siblings' biased opinions either.

You don't question the amethyst hearths that burn brightly in his eye sockets or the hungry, warm flames that ignite in his hands or how he can walk through fire, across hot coals barefooted, swim through lava unharmed. You don't question it when he burns his sister's attempt rapists or the men who'd mugged Lykos to ashes without remorse. You don't question the way he had commanded fire to ignite inside the bellies of the men who had nearly killed Thanatos and watched as they were burned alive from the inside out. You don't question his affinity and control over fire. You simply accept it or turn a blind eye.

* * *

 _They were screaming. What for? They had sliced at his brother's skin; their knives digging deep into his little brother's powerful muscles. They made blood flow in rivers down his skin, staining it a pretty crimson. Crimson didn't suit Yugi's little brother._

 _He had a ring of dark purple around his neck already in the shape of their hands and fingers as they'd tried to choke him to death. Violet didn't suit his brother either._

 _Yugi could remember Thanatos' strangled cries down their link, choked and panicked. He could remember the way fear had consumed his voice as he thought he'd breath his last._

 _Not on his big brother's watch._

 _Those bastards had stabbed his brother – his perfect, powerful, handsome baby brother – in the stomach in hope to hasten his death. Yugi didn't like that. Yugi didn't like the thought of Thanatos dying at all._

 _As if he would let that happen. Yugi was the oldest. He would die first. Not his little brother._

 _Swiftly, Yugi removed the dagger from Thanatos' stomach and slipped it into his belt as he placed his hands over the heavily bleeding wound – his hands quickly becoming soaked in his brother's own life liquid – the warm fire returning to his hands – with a different purpose now – as he slowly healed the would-be-fatal wound from the inside. His brother would live – that Yugi was sure of._

 _His attempted murderers, however, would not. Yugi would make sure of that himself._

 _Yugi didn't like hurting people. He thought it was wrong but…the way they had tried to tear his little brother to pieces – his precious, beloved, baby brother…that was also wrong. So maybe, it was justified that he retaliated. It wasn't right – no, two wrongs do not make a right – but Yugi didn't want what was right. He wanted justice – retribution, revenge – and with his recovering little brother as his witness, he would get it._

 _Yugi raised his hand once more and flicked his wrist._

 _Instantly, the screams rose in pitch and tempo – like the Haunted House music he played on the piano – as flames leapt through the skin, the burning inferno in their bellies that Yugi had set alight was like an untamable wildfire now, eating away at their internal organs and out of the skin like a pack of leeches and maggots. Yugi smiled slowly, Harley Quinn-style as he watched the magnificent, entrancing flames completely envelop the five men in front of him as their bodies burned to ashes whilst they remained alive. Yugi didn't quite know why his victims remained alive during their ordeal but he did not particularly care. He liked to think they deserved it – it at least made him sleep easier when he finally regained his humanity._

 _Just to satisfy his sadistic streak, Yugi upped the heat, smiling with delight as their screams became louder until their last piece of flesh crumbled into ashes, the flames dying with them._

 _And Yugi…_

… _laughed._

* * *

You don't question the lion cub that follows him around like a lost kitten, hidden in his school bag, tucked away beside Lykos' bear at night while he's at work and cuddled up in his arms or on his stomach any other time. You don't question its mother and father are found sleeping on the porch or in the children's room or accompanying Yugi to work. Somehow they've been unnoticed by authorities. Undoubtedly, the Mist was at work there. You also don't question the Set Animal – you know, the one that's meant to be extinct or not exist at all – that accompanies the lion cub on its adventures or the occasional scorpion and jackal that climbs through the window. Sometimes the siblings contemplate setting up a private menagerie for all their pets.

You don't question the sand that can be found scattered across the floor of the house after Yugi has gotten too frustrated with his homework and started up a sandstorm, right in the middle of the living room. It is important that the remaining three siblings evacuate the house via the upstairs window. You also don't question the storms that brew on the horizon whenever Yugi is upset or when they rage for days upon end when one of his siblings is hurt.

Yugi's elemental, gaming, cooking and certain animal whispering talents aren't even a blip on the radar of abnormalities for the family as a whole but when he's alone and when's he's honest with himself, these little things remind him of being disowned by goddess he never met and being adopted by a god of evil and warrior goddess he only sees once in a blue moon.

As you can see, the Mutou children are not normal by any definition of the word. In fact, their definition of normal is our definition of fantasy, strange and supernatural but that is because it is all they have ever known. So, if you are to ever meet the Mutou children and befriend them, those are just some of their little quirks that you need to watch out for.

And remember; just don't question it.

* * *

 **A/N: Finished! Like? Hate? Leave your thoughts in a review or a PM and have a good day/night!**

 **IMPORTANT!**

 **Question for the Readers: Can you guess who Yugi's mother is? Thanatos' father? Lykos' mother? Layla's father? If you can, leave your guesses in a review and if you get it right, I will either write a one-shot story for you on your request or add your OC in if you want to send one in to be a main part of the gang or something else of your choosing.**

 **Extra tricky question: Can you guess Yugi's adoptive parents? I have left a few hints throughout the chapter but it will still be hard to figure out. If you get it right, I will do something for you either involving this one-shot series, a different story or my main series to come.**

 **Happy Hunting!**

 **Tori is Japanese for Bird.**

 **Tryaurus.**


End file.
